Brett McDermott took his light heavyweight main event against former champion Liam McGeary on just two days’ notice. On paper, he should’ve had no chance.

But McDermott (7-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) gave McGeary an early test, knocking him down quickly into the fight, and wasn’t afraid to stand and trade with him. Ultimately, though, McGeary (12-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) cut McDermott up, then got a TKO win in the second when the cageside doctor said McDermott’s cuts were impairing his vision and were too bad to go on. The stoppage came at the 1:06 mark of the second.

Bellator 173 took place Friday at SSE Arena Belfast in Northern Ireland. The main card aired on Spike via tape delay in the U.S.

After the win, McGeary was informed he’ll be fighting May 19 at Bellator 179 in London against England’s Linton Vassell (17-5 MMA, 6-2 BMMA). The winner of that fight could move on for a shot at the light heavyweight title, which McGeary lost to new champ Phil Davis this past year.

The two big men got going straight away. McDermott drilled McGeary with a right hand and sent him straight to his back. McGeary got back to his feet, but circled outside to make sure he had time to recover. The two continued to slug, but two minutes in, McGeary clipped McDermott with a head kick. Somehow, McDermott walked through it and tossed McGeary to the canvas. He kicked at his legs, then let the taller former champ back up. And that was a mistake. With blood coming from around his right eye, McDermott ate a massive knee and tumbled to the canvas. McGeary went to the ground with him and worked for submissions, including an armbar. McDermott finally cleared his arm, but then had to worry about a triangle choke from McGeary working off his back.

The doctors looked at McDermott before the second round, checking not only the cuts around his eye, but his nose, which appeared to take the brunt of McGeary’s knee in the first. McGeary picked McDermott apart in the second, and the cut on his eyebrow opened further. Referee Dan Miragliotta had the doctor come in to check again, and he saw enough damage to put a stop to things.

McGeary got back on track after losing the light heavyweight title to Davis in November, which was the first loss of his career. McDermott has alternated wins and losses for his past eight fights.

James Gallagher vs. Kirill Medvedovsky

Gallagher rips through Medvedovsky for submission, calls out McKee

James Gallagher had no problem against Kirill Medvedovsky on Friday night. In fact, his post-fight speech might have given him more trouble than the fight itself. That’s not to say he struggled on the microphone – it’s just that his win looked that effortless.

Gallagher tapped Medvedovsky with a first-round rear-naked choke in their featherweight fight, then called out fellow Bellator unbeaten fighter A.J. McKee in a major way, asking for him at Bellator 179 on May 19 in London.

Gallagher tried to get his striking going early against Medvedovsky, and the Northern Ireland crowd was squarely behind him. Ninety seconds in, Gallagher tried a jumping knee that backed Medvedovsky up and used it to take him to the ground. The jiu-jitsu standout tried to work out of half-guard and did, jumping to full mount with three minutes to work. Medvedovsky gave his back not long after that, and Gallagher rained down some heavy punches. That got Medvedovsky to cover up, and that allowed Gallagher to easily grab Medvedovsky’s neck for the rear-naked choke finish. Gallagher forced the tap at the 2:53 mark of the round.

Gallagher (6-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), a teammate of Conor McGregor at the SBG Ireland gym, stayed perfect and now has five of his six wins by submission. Medvedovsky (7-4 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) lost for the third straight time and fourth time in five fights.

Razafiarison silences Northern Ireland crowd, dominates Kavanagh

Most people probably expected a dominant performance in the 140-pound catchweight fight between Sinead Kavanagh and Iony Razafiarison, who had been out for nearly two years. But it didn’t come from who they thought it would come from.

A couple minutes into the first round, Kavanagh knocked Razafiarison down. But it was only briefly. Razafiarison popped back to her feet in an instant, then took Kavanagh down. Razafiarison kept Kavanagh stifled on top until referee Dan Miragliotta put them back on their feet with 90 seconds left. But a minute later, Razafiarison took Kavanagh down again. And that was the story of the fight. Razafiarison spent the majority of the fight on top on the ground, and Kavanagh never got anything going en route to a dominant decision win for Razafiarison with scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 30-25.

Razafiarison (2-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) won for the first time since her pro debut in October 2013 in her first fight in nearly two years. Kavanagh (4-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), who also trains alongside McGregor at SBG Ireland, lost for the first time in her pro career.

Lohore survives first-round near KO, taps Fletcher in second

Alex Lohore probably was knocked out in the first round. But just as quickly, he was knocked back into consciousness, and surviving helped him get a second-round submission win over Colin Fletcher in their welterweight fight to open the main card.

Lohore took Fletcher down 25 seconds in, and Fletcher worked hard on a D’Arce choke. Lohore got loose and went for his own submission, only to have his position reversed. After they moved back to their feet, Fletcher caught a Lohore kick and after backing him up, leveled him with a massive right hand. Lohore dropped the canvas, and it looked like he was out. But when his head hit the canvas, he may have come back to. Fletcher worked submissions on him for the next minute, but couldn’t get the finish – and that proved costly in the second round.

In the second, the two traded punches on the feet before Lohore took Fletcher to the ground. A little more than two minutes in, he jumped to mount and worked elbows from the top till Fletcher gave his back. Once he did, Lohore scrambled for the rear-naked choke and forced the tap in a hurry. The stoppage came at the 2:42 mark of the round, giving Lohore a big comeback victory.

Lohore (11-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) won for the seventh straight time. Fletcher (13-8), a two-fight UFC veteran, lost for the third time in four fights.